Riders Name New Boss

The Saskatchewan Roughriders Board of Directors announced today that Craig Reynolds will be the Club’s next President and Chief Executive Officer.

Craig had been with the Riders for the previous six seasons after originally joining the Club as the Chief Financial Officer in June, 2009. After three years, Craig was promoted to Senior Vice-President & CFO where he has remained to date.

As an organizational leader Craig has been accountable for the Club’s strategic planning, budgeting, financial reporting, treasury, human resource and stadium operations functions. He has also worked closely with Football Operations providing forecasting, modeling and analytics assistance to the team in managing the league-wide salary cap and maximizing value for money.

Recently, Craig was a member of the 2013 Grey Cup Executive Committee and chaired the Operations Committee. In this role, he was responsible for all aspects of ticketing, sponsorship, marketing, retail, and stadium operations, delivering record revenue for the Club. Craig also played a lead role in the Grey Cup Legacy Project resulting in the expansion of the current Mosaic Stadium. Under Craig’s guidance the Club’s stabilization reserves have grown from $1 million to over $12 million in five years.

Most notably, Craig has led all aspects of the Club’s involvement in the development of the new Mosaic Stadium, Saskatchewan’s iconic new sports and entertainment venue. It is his vision that the new Mosaic Stadium will create an opportunity to grow revenue, enhance the ability to recruit and retain players, coaches, and staff, and deliver a world class fan experience for the organization’s passionate fan base. Additionally, Craig, while working alongside the Club’s senior leadership team, has developed the Club’s capital campaign designed to acquire the organization’s financial commitment to the stadium build.

The 39-year-old grew up in Foam Lake, SK before attending the University of Saskatchewan where he completed a Bachelor of Commerce, with Distinction, and a Masters in Professional Accounting. He then obtained his Chartered Accountant Designation in 2001 from the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants. Craig began working with KPMG in 1998 in Saskatoon before transferring to the company’s Luxembourg location. From there he moved to London, England in 2003 to work for Thomson Scientific in a Financial Accounting role. Just prior to relocating back to Saskatchewan to join the Riders, Craig worked for Suncor Energy in Alberta for four years where he departed as Senior Manager of the Oil Sands Cost Management Program.

Craig will become the franchises second President and CEO, with predecessor Jim Hopson set to retire in March after ten years at the helm.

Craig and his wife, Lisa, have two children; 7-year-old daughter, Neeve and 5-year-old son, Noel.